Angola Trivia – 50 General Knowledge Trivia Questions on Angola

1. What is the capital and largest city of Angola?

Luanda is the capital and largest city of Angola. Founded by the Portuguese in 1576, Luanda sits on the Atlantic coast and is Angola’s cultural, financial and communications center as well as its main seaport.

2. Which major river forms part of Angola’s northern border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

The Congo River flows along Angola’s northern border with the Democratic Republic of Congo for about 100 miles (160 km) and also forms part of the border with Zambia.

3. What is Angola’s highest point?

At 2,620 meters (8,596 feet), Moco Mountain, part of the Morro de Moco range located in Huambo Province, is Angola’s highest point.

4. When did Angola gain independence from Portugal?

On November 11, 1975, after a long war for independence, Portugal relinquished control of Angola which finally became an independent nation after nearly 500 years of Portuguese rule.

5. What are the two major ethnic groups in Angola?

The Ovimbundu and the Mbundu, both Bantu peoples, are the two largest ethnic groups in Angola, comprising about 37% and 25% of the population respectively.

6. What is Angola’s currency called?

The kwanza is the currency of Angola. It is subdivided into 100 lwei which replaced the previous centimo subdivisions.

7. Who was Angola’s first president after it gained independence?

Agostinho Neto became Angola’s first president after independence from Portugal in 1975. He led his party, the MPLA, in the fight for liberation.

8. What natural resource is Angola abundant in that greatly contributes to its economy?

Oil – Angola has extensive offshore and onshore oil reserves, predominantly off the northwest coast, that drive much of its economy.

9. What is Angola’s official language?

Portuguese is Angola’s sole official language, a legacy which dates back to Portugal’s colonization of the region beginning in the late 15th century.

10. Prior to independence, what European country ruled over Angola for nearly 500 years?

Portugal colonized Angola in the late 1400s and, except for a brief period of Dutch rule, controlled Angola until its independence in 1975 – a span just short of 500 years.

11. What type of terrain covers 40% of Angola’s surface area?

High tropical plateaus and mesas, averaging about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in elevation, cover roughly 40% of Angola’s landscape mostly inland toward the east.

12. What Angolan port city was founded in 1575 and served as the capital until the 20th century?

Benguela, founded by the Portuguese in 1575, was the capital of Angola until 1902 when it moved to Luanda. Today it remains an important Atlantic Ocean port.

13. What religion do approximately half of Angolans adhere to today?

About half the population practices religions with indigenous African origins and beliefs while about 41% identify as Roman Catholic, a consequence of Portuguese colonization and influence.

14. What is Angola’s form of government?

Angola is a presidential republic with one legislative house. The president serves as both chief of state and head of government.

15. Angola endured a civil war from independence in 1975 until what year?

Angola suffered a 27-year civil war involving rival political factions that started soon after independence from Portugal in 1975 and did not end until 2002.

16. What well-known Angolan freedom fighter, activist, and politician was assassinated in 2001?

In 2001, Jonas Savimbi who founded and led UNITA against Portuguese rule and then in a civil war, was killed by government troops bringing a semblance of peace.

17. What southeast African country borders Angola to the south?

Namibia lies directly south of Angola sharing a border that stretches over 1,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Okavango region.

18. Who was Angola’s president from 1979 until 2017?

Jose Eduardo dos Santos served as president of Angola for 38 years from 1979 when he took over after the death of Agostinho Neto until 2017 when he stepped down.

19. What is Angola’s agricultural cash crop that employs tens of thousands of rural Angolans?

Coffee cultivation and production employs many rural Angolans across several provinces with robusta coffee being the main cash crop export.

20. Angola comprises how many provinces?

Administratively, Angola is divided into 18 provinces each headed by a governor appointed by the country’s president.

21. When did a cholera epidemic hit Luanda and claim thousands of lives?

In 2006, a cholera outbreak in Luanda, Angola’s capital, infected over 100,000 people and took thousands of lives due to poor sanitation and lack of access to clean drinking water.

22. From which European country did tens of thousands of settlers come to Angola?

Portugal sent many explorers and settlers, including soldiers, priests, criminals and outcasts, to colonize Angola over several centuries starting in the late 1400s.

23. Which Angolan ethnic group makes up around 37% of the population?

The Ovimbundu people centered on the Bié Plateau are Angola’s largest ethnic group today comprising about 37% of the total population of over 30 million.

24. Angola’s coastline stretches for how many miles along the Atlantic Ocean?

Angola possesses over 600 miles (1,000 km) of Atlantic coastline which curves inland to enclose the northern part of Namibia.

25. What is the name of Angola’s most famous dance with improvised complex steps?

The kizomba, which translates to “party” in Kimbundu, is a popular Angolan dance made up of highly improvised and creative steps.

26. Soccer is a beloved sport in Angola. What is the nickname of their national team?

Angola’s national football team which made its first World Cup appearance in 2006, is affectionately nicknamed the Sable Antelopes.

27. What major industry accounts for over 50% of Angola’s GDP?

Petroleum production from offshore oil fields accounts for over 50% of Angola’s GDP and around 95% of its export earnings.

28. What primate species is threatened by poachers across parts of Angola?

Chimpanzees are illegally hunted for meat and profit across parts of northern and eastern Angola further endangering this intelligent ape species.

29. Kwanza is the name of Angola’s currency as well as what major river?

The Kwanza is not only the name of Angola’s currency but also its longest river which is over 960 miles (1550 km) long.

30. In what year did Angola face an outbreak of the Marburg virus?

In 2005, over 250 Angolans were infected in an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus, centered on the northern Uíge Province, with a 90% fatality rate.

31. What Portuguese navigator first sailed down the west coast of what is now Angola?

Diogo Cão, one of the most famous Portuguese explorers, was likely the first European to sail down Angola’s west coast in the 1480s.

32. The Mbundu and Bakongo live in the northern and western regions near what historical cultural center?

The ancient Kingdom of Kongo situated near the mouth of the Congo River where the Bakongo and Mbundu ethnic groups reside even today.

33. Which ethnic group makes up around 25% of Angola’s population and originated in the eastern Congo Basin?

The Mbundu people, composed of a number of subgroups, likely migrated from the eastern Congo region and now comprise about 25% of Angolans.

34. What is the name of Angola’s most famous queen who led her people’s resistance against the Portuguese?

Queen Nzinga Mbandi was an influential 17th century ruler of Ndongo who fiercely opposed Portuguese colonization and the slave trade.

35. What Christian holiday is celebrated as a public holiday across most of Angola?

All Saints’ Day, a Christian holiday honoring saints and martyrs, is an official public holiday celebrated by many Angolans on November 1st.

36. Angola is situated on which continent’s west coast?

Angola occupies the west central coast of Africa where the continent tilts towards the Atlantic south of the Congo Basin.

37. What natural resource was discovered offshore in Angola in 1955?

Petroleum – in 1955, large offshore oil deposits were discovered in Angola sparking exponential growth in the oil industry.

38. What is the name of a stew or sauce that is a staple of Angolan cuisine?

Muamba de galinha, a chicken-based stew, is a staple dish found across Angolan cuisine reflective of Portuguese and Brazilian influences.

39. Which country borders Angola to the north?

Angola shares a long northern border with the Democratic Republic of Congo spanning over 1,600 miles (2,500 km).

40. What is the Benguela current responsible for bringing to Angola’s Atlantic coastline?

The northward flowing Benguela current carries cold, nutrient-rich water that sustains abundant fisheries along Angola’s western seaboard.

41. Angola is home to the remnants of what ancient southwestern African kingdom?

The historical Kingdom of Ndongo located in what is now northern Angola flourished for over 500 years until the Portuguese dismantled it in the 17th century.

42. Football is a favorite sport – what player born in Angola played for FC Porto and Manchester City?

Manuel Afonso Laureano de Jesus, known as Manuel “Nani,” is a famous football winger born in Angola who has played for Manchester United and other major European clubs.

43. In what decade did the MPLA come to power after Angola gained independence?

The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) secured power in Angola in November 1975, the same month and year Angola became independent from Portugal.

44. Palanca Negra is a beer named after what animal found across Angola?

Palanca Negra, literally “black antelope,” is a popular Angolan beer named after the giant sable antelope endemic to the region.

45. What phosphate-rich region was the cause of clashes with which neighboring country through 2002?

Cabinda, an Angolan province rich in phosphates, oil and natural gas, harbored separatists causing conflicts with the Democratic Republic of Congo into the early 2000s.

46. In the 1800s, what industry boomed along with the rise of Atlantic slave trading ports?

Angola’s slave trade peaked in the 1800s as the rise of several busy Atlantic ports enabled vast exports with disastrous impacts.

47. Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo is the birth name of what 18th century Portuguese statesman?

The Marquês de Pombal, who ruled Portugal and oversaw recovery efforts after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, was born in Lisbon as Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo.

48. What 1968 law sparked an uprising and the fight for independence in Angola?

Portugal’s Regulation Act of Labor Contracts for Natives in 1968 imposed new forced labor rules catalyzing independence movements already growing across its African territories like Angola.

49. Which 20th century Angolan political leader founded UNITA to oppose Portuguese rule?

Jonas Malheiro Savimbi founded UNITA, a militant group, in 1966 to fight for Angola’s independence from Portugal by any means necessary.

50. What 2 official languages were declared upon Angolan independence in 1975?

Portuguese and local Bantu languages were designated official state languages when Angola became fully independent of Portugal.